Abs, abs, abs: My Simple Abdominal Workout

I feel like I haven't told you guys what I've been up to lately, so I'm going to preface this post with a little update for you. This summer is the first time in 6 years that I have not gone to a summer intensive dance program. What that means is it has been all up to me to stay in shape and keep my body moving since I'm not dancing for 5+ hours daily. I'm not gonna lie to ya'll, it has been tough to stay motivated but I'm really trying to get a workout in every single day. I have a couple of go-to combos and exercises that I've been doing to keep my body conditioned and today, I'm going to share one with you guys! This is my ab combo that I try to do every night before bed. All you'll need is a clear space and a yoga mat. Let's get it!**It should be noted that my music of choice for this workout is Beyonce's Lemonade album. I mean what else would it be? Warm up to Pray You Catch Me and start the first set of crunches with when B starts singing the Hold Up chorus.

1. Warm Up

I like to start by activating my core to wake up the muscles and get the blood circulating through that area. Begin with a set of hundreds and really focus on scooping your belly in and up towards your ribs. After that comes a series of planks: 1 minute plank on the forearms, 30 second side plank on each side and a 1 minute plank in push up position.

2. Crunch Pulse

As soon as Hold Up comes on, it's time to start those crunches. Bend your knees, lie flat on your back and pulse upwards until the tips of your shoulder blades lift up off the mat. Arms can be behind the head or resting on the mat. Repeat this for 2 counts of 8 and breathe rhythmically or sing Hold up, they don't love you like I love you with lots of vigor.

3. Crossbody Crunch

Now, we incorporate the arms. Keep crunching to the rhythm and reach your right arm across your torso to the left of your body and vice-versa. Make sure that you aren't straining your neck and that your core is activated throughout the exercise. Repeat for 2 counts of 8.

4. Double Pulse Crunch

For this crunch, you are going to pulse up twice then slowly lower down to the mat. This is is a nice, controlled movement that targets the lower abs and fills the space between the first verse and chorus. Queen B is forever on the beat after all. Do this move 4 times and brace yourself for the chorus!

5. Russian Twists

For this next move you're going to come up to a sitting position and roll down using your core so that your lower back is just lifted off the ground. Twist side to side with your hands clasped together for 4 counts of 8.

6. Russian Twist Shimmy Down

This is probably my favorite just because of the name. It's pretty great, right? So you're going to continue the Russian twists while lowering your body down to hover above the mat in four counts and bring yourself back up to sitting in four more counts. You're arms should be lifted above your head, parallel to each other as you do this. Confused yet? Look at the picture below to see what I'm talking about. Got it? Continue this one for 4 sets of 8.

7. Reverse Superman

For this one, you're going to come up to sitting and balance on your tailbone with your legs bent and feet off the mat. In one count, you're going to extend your arms and legs as if you were going to lie flat with your arms above your head on the ground. But you are not going to touch the ground! You're going to use your core to balance yourself in this laid out position and bring yourself back to the legs bent position, still on balance. A little confusing, I know, but look at the pictures to help you. Repeat this for 2 counts of 8 and try to stay balanced for the entire set. Push girl, push!!!

8. Bicycles

This is the final sequence so give me and Queen B everything you've got! You're going to start with some regular bikes: with your hands supporting your head and neck, bring your right elbow to your left knee and vice-versa. You are going to do a slow count of 4 sets of 8 and then speed up at the end to finish it out. Really grind it out at the end and double pulse on every 4th twist.Congrats! You finished my ab workout! Make sure you stretch out those abdominals by lying on your front, pressing your palms into the ground to lift your torso, and release those muscles.I hope you all enjoyed this post! Comment down below what kind of workout you'd like to see next! Thank you for stopping by :) Much love, PS&P** What's your favorite workout song?